Last weekend saw hundreds of whisky enthusiasts descend on Christ Church Spitalfields in London for Club Oenologique’s inaugural World Whisky Experience. Over two days, attendees had the opportunity to sample more than 200 whiskies from across the globe, participate in masterclasses hosted by both respected brands and renowned experts, and speak directly to producers to hear more about the drams in their glasses.
The last few decades have seen whisky production explode beyond its traditional heartlands, providing a home for the spirit in all four corners of the world. The World Whisky Experience, which took place on 15 & 16 November, was a spectacular showcase of this diversity, bringing together distilleries from Scotland, Ireland and the US with makers from countries such as Taiwan, New Zealand, Romania and India. Ticketholders circulating the church’s nave, host to more than 35 exhibitors, were offered a detailed picture of the wealth of styles and quality available to today’s whisky drinker.
From recently established producers, such as Scotland’s Holyrood Distillery, the English distiller Henstone and Romania’s Carpathian, to more established names, including Dalmore, Four Roses and Curraghmore, the show gave visitors a chance to revisit old favourites and discover new ones. In addition to the dedicated producer stands, a bar hosted by the IWSC was the place to sample dozens of award-winning whiskies from this year’s competition.
A room belonging to the crypt of the church was the intimate setting for the show’s masterclasses. Each session welcomed a maximum of 25 guests, with journalist Kristiane Sherry, author of Club O’s Scotch Whisky Report, kicking off proceedings each day with a masterclass for VIP ticketholders on the art of modern blends. This engaging look at the quality of contemporary blended Scotch, which elicited a few gasps for samples of exclusive drams such as The Last Drop’s 40 YO and House of Hazelwood’s Accelerator and the Brake, provided an exciting initiation for whisky lovers about to embark on a day of discovery.
Over the course of the event, masterclasses were hosted by the likes of the Cotswolds Distillery, Fettercairn, Paul John (including a guest appearance by Paul John himself on Saturday) and Four Roses, with experts Eddie Ludlow and the Glassmates trio also dropping in to share their selected bottles and talk on themes such as the past, present and future of whisky. Shannon Tebay, one of New York’s leading bartenders, mixed up whisky cocktails in her masterclasses on both days too, not far from Mola Chill Drinks’ pop-up bar serving complimentary cocktails.
The sight of so many passionate whisky fans gathered in one place to share opinions, conversation, discoveries and, of course, some of the world’s finest drams serves as further evidence of whisky’s rude state of health. Stay tuned for details on next year’s show and please do make sure to join us for what should be another exciting World Whisky Experience in 2025.
Scroll on for more highlights from this year’s show.
